Santa Baby
by Specter-Paulsen
Summary: Baby Specter is overdue and Donna is impatient. Based on a prompt by Agnes!


**_A/N: This was inspired by a tweet from Agnes about Donna being pregnant and annoyed by everything Harvey does. I hope I did it justice!_**

* * *

_December 21st_

It's two days past Donna's due date. She's huge, uncomfortable and cranky and everyone is tiptoeing around her, afraid to set her off.

"How are you feeling?" Harvey asks when he stops by her office mid-afternoon.

"I can't believe I'm two days overdue," Donna groans, shifting uncomfortably in her desk chair. "This is your fault."

"My fault?"

"This child certainly did not get a penchant for lateness from me."

"I think she's too scared to make her appearance in case she disrupts your work," Harvey replies seriously.

"She?" Donna raises her eyebrows, "we've been over this."

"I know, I know, we shouldn't assign gender before it's born because we don't want to unintentionally disappoint ourselves," Harvey repeats the words he's heard from her almost every week for the last nine months.

"Don't patronise me," she replies, rubbing the right hand side of her belly and wincing.

"I'm not, honey, I'm sorry." Harvey leans against her desk, laying his hand over the bump. "How's the munchkin doing?"

"A little too well," she replies, closing her eyes as he gently rubs circles on her stomach. "Baby Specter is a kicker. And a wriggler." She cracks one eye open to look at Harvey. "Takes after you."

"Me? What did I do?" He feigns offence and a smile appears on her face.

"You're always moving around. Even in your sleep. Your child has learned from you."

"Donna, can you—" Louis stops in the doorway as Donna turns a glare on him.

"What, Louis? Can't I have a moment with my husband, the father of my child?" she snaps and he withers a little.

"Donna," Harvey says gently, defending his friend.

"What? Is the huge pregnant woman making the little man uncomfortable?" she snarks and Louis quietly backs out of the room.

"Sweetheart, I really think it would be good for you to start your maternity leave early. You don't have to wait for the baby to be born to stop working." He takes her hand in his and her expression softens. He's the only person who has been able to calm her lately, with his soft voice only for her, and gentle touches that still send a warmth through her even after more than two years of marriage.

"There's still so much to do." She looks down at her desk and the pile of contracts that need signing.

"Yes, but we can all take care of that. And your replacement starts after the holidays so she can pick up on stuff too."

"_Temporary _replacement," she says sharply and Harvey nods quickly, placating her.

"Why don't you go home now and get some rest."

"I'm fine, Harvey." Her voice is impatient again and he knows his brief respite is over. He stands up, knowing well enough to leave her be and let her come to the decision on her own. He bends to kiss the top of her head, squeezing her shoulder lightly.

"I'll swing by later on, okay?"

"Okay."

...

_December 22nd_

It's the second to last day before the holiday weekend and Donna wakes up early, her bladder needing to be emptied once again, now that the baby has squashed it to the size of a pea.

Harvey wakes as she waddles back to bed and he watches her lower herself awkwardly onto the mattress, wincing as she does so.

"How are you feeling?" He asks, his voice croaky with sleep.

"Fat," she replies with a sigh.

"You're not fat, you're—"

"I know, I know," she cuts him off. "Miracle of life and all that." She looks down at her belly, stroking it absently. "I'm just ready for the baby now. I'm tired of being pregnant."

"I know." He reaches for her and sets a hand on top of hers. The baby kicks in response and they both smile. "Hey, munchkin," Harvey says softly. "Are you going to come and meet us today?"

Another kick.

"I'm choosing to believe that's a yes," Donna says, leaning heavily back onto her pillows. Her back aches and she knows that her feet are swollen, despite having not seen them in almost a month. People keep telling her how she's hardly put on any weight, she's "all bump" but she feels huge. She has heartburn, she constantly feels too hot, and even her maternity clothes are a stretch to fit now. Her hospital bag has been packed and by the door for over a week and there's still no sign of the baby making his or her appearance any time soon.

"It's still early," Harvey says, catching sight of the clock, "you going back to sleep?"

"I'll try," she says with a roll of her eyes, knowing that sleep will be impossible now that baby Specter is moving around again. Harvey makes a sympathetic noise, stroking the bump absent-mindedly even as his eyes close and he drifts back into sleep. Donna huffs in annoyance. _Stupid man with his no uterus._

_... _

_December 23rd_

"I'm not feeling so good," Donna says to Harvey over breakfast on the final morning of work before the holiday weekend.

"Do you think it's labor? Is the baby coming?"

"No, dumbass," she rolls her eyes and he pretends not to be wounded by the insult, "if I was in Labor, I'd say "Harvey, I'm in labor," obviously."

"Okay…"

"I'm just letting you know," she says, "In case I need to leave work early."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything during the day. I'll be right there."

.

"Still no baby?" Gretchen says from the doorway of the executive kitchen as Donna makes a cup of decaf coffee.

"No, I had the baby and came immediately back to work, still this huge," Donna snaps and Gretchen shakes her head.

"I've had three babies, Red. I know what you're going through. But you don't have to take it out on everyone else."

"How many of your babies were overdue two days before Christmas?" Donna sasses, a hand pressed against her lower back in an attempt to alleviate the pain there.

"Girl, you _know _what will make that baby come along faster."

"I know," Donna sighs. She's never been a fan of spicy foods, and with her back feeling the way it does she can't bear the idea of a long walk. And she's never felt less sexy in her entire life and is certainly not going to broach _that _subject with Harvey. There's meant to be a tea that supposedly helps things along, but she hasn't looked up where to find it.

"Anyway," Gretchen continues, "one of my babies _was _overdue right before Christmas."

Donna gapes at her. "Really?"

"Really. My youngest, Michael. His birthday is tomorrow. And believe me, twenty six years ago, even with two small kids already, I was just as terrified as you."

"I'm not—"

"Don't even try it with me." Gretchen sits down and gestures for Donna to do the same. The redhead positions herself awkwardly on one of the stools at the island bench and turns her attention to the older woman. "I was terrified before the birth of all my children. Giving birth is the unknown, and it's normal to be afraid of that. But once you've been through it, and you've got that beautiful little person in your arms, you'll forget all about what you were so scared of, because there'll be a whole new set of fears to worry about." Gretchen puts her hand over Donna's, squeezing lightly. "You'll be a wonderful mother. And if that pretty boy husband of yours loves that baby even half as much as he loves you, that child will be the luckiest kid around." She stands, leaving Donna feeling a little choked up, but calmer somehow. "I've got to go take care of some things, if I don't see you before the holidays, good luck, Red."

_..._

_December 24th_

"Do you have to breathe so loudly?" She scowls at Harvey as they sit on the sofa watching a Hallmark Christmas movie.

"I… I didn't realise I was," he replies, turning his gaze on her.

"You're like Darth Vader over there."

"Sorry," he says sheepishly, not entirely sure what's he's apologising for, given that he's not doing anything differently than usual but fully aware that she was full of raging hormones and was desperate for the baby to come.

"You're still doing it," she says a few minutes later and he looks over at her to find her scowling again.

"I'm sorry, honey. Do you want me to make you a tea?"

"No, I don't want tea. I just want to watch a movie. _Quietly." _

A few more minutes pass in silence, only broken by a heavy sigh from Donna, accompanied by a hard stare at Harvey, who closes his mouth very deliberately before then opening it again to speak.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No. I just need this baby out."

"You know, I heard that sex is supposed to help induce labor," he says hesitantly. Donna's eyes widen and she visibly recoils.

"No. Fucking. Way." She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. "You are not coming near me with that thing."

"That _thing_?" He echoes, a smirk on his face.

"Don't you smirk at me. That thing is the reason I'm like _this_." She gestures toward her swollen stomach and Harvey chuckles.

"I believe you were a very... active participant that night." He waggles his eyebrows and she can't help but smile. They don't know exactly when their child was conceived, given how active their sex life still was after more than a year of marriage, but they each have their own idea. Harvey believes it was the night he won Attorney of the Year at the American Lawyer Awards, but Donna believes it was two days earlier, one of the three times they'd had sex that night.

Harvey pulls her toward him, folding her into his arms and pressing his lips to the top of her head.

"You're still breathing loudly," she grumbles, but the bite has gone from her words. She feels safe and comfortable in his embrace and for a brief moment she forgets about her fears for the impending birth.

.

"This baby is going to be born on fucking Christmas Day," she groans as she gets into bed that night.

"You don't know that. She could be another few days yet."

"Well _that _doesn't make me feel better." She scowls at him and he holds his hands up apologetically. "And stop saying she."

"Sorry, honey." He slides into bed beside her and reaches across her full body pillow to run his hand along her arm. "I'm sorry you're feeling so crappy."

"I know," she sighs, "I'm sorry I'm such a grouch."

"Hey, it's okay." He moves his hand to cup her face, his thumb rubbing back and forth on her cheekbone. "You're carrying our baby, you can be as grouchy as you like."

Donna smiles in reply. Yes, she definitely married the perfect man. Even if he does breathe far too loudly.

...

_25th December _

Christmas Day comes and goes without a sign of baby Specter's arrival. They've spent the day with their Specter Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett family, Louis and Sheila proudly hosting the "Christmakkuh" meal, followed by a lively game of charades and a far more sedate but just as competitive game of Scrabble.

It's after 11pm when Donna feels a twinge as she's getting up to pee. She's been having Braxton Hicks periodically through the day, but her waters haven't broken yet so she knows it's not labor. She feels the twinge again as she uses the counter top as leverage to hoist herself up from the toilet, and suddenly there's liquid running down her legs and she knows.

"Harvey," she calls, letting herself drop back into a sitting position, figuring that if liquid is coming out of her, she may as well stay in the bathroom. Harvey appears in the doorway and smiles sleepily.

"You need a hand getting up?"

"No. Well, yes, but my waters just broke."

"What?" Suddenly he's wide awake, a slight look of panic on his face.

"It's okay, it only just happened and I'm not having regular contractions yet so we have time." She's calm. She's read everything she could about labor and birth and now that it's happening she knows exactly what to do. "I'm going to take a shower. Will you get me something to eat?"

Harvey nods, helping her up and then going to the kitchen after she's safely in the shower. "It's happening," he breathes, repeating the words over and over, "it's happening, it's happening, it's happening." He makes Donna a sandwich and grabs two granola bars as well. When he gets back to the bathroom she's just stepping out of the shower. He hands her a towel and follows helplessly behind her as she goes to the closet and pulls out clothes, dressing in maternity sweatpants and a loose sweatshirt, forgoing a bra. He hovers as she sits down on the bed and bites into the ham and cheese sandwich he's made.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

"Not yet," she replies, chewing on another bite of the sandwich. "Contractions haven't even properly started. I'm just going to lie down for a while."

Harvey nods, rounding the bed and sitting, propping himself up against the headboard. "Can I do anything?"

"No. Just relax, I'll tell you when we need to go."

_..._

_26th December _

Donna labors for fourteen hours and at 2:14pm, their son is born, a light fuzz on his head and his wide brown eyes the spitting image of his father's.

"He's here," Donna says in amazement, staring down at him after he'd been laid on her breast.

"He is," Harvey replied, emotion overwhelming him.

"Told you not to say "she" all the time," Donna quipped with a wink, and just like that, they were laughing, euphoric about the birth of their child, despite the pain, exhaustion and stress of the past fourteen hours. All of that was forgotten as they took their first moment as a family of three, their son the perfect Christmas gift.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed :) **

**Happy New Year!**

**Em xx**


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